BOSTON: David Huff will return from Columbus to face the Red Sox Tuesday night at Fenway Park then stay in the rotation.

But with a word of caution: ""For now,'' manager Manny Acta said this afternoon.

""For now,'' the Indians' rotation includes Fausto Carmona, Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin, Jeanmar Gomez and Huff. But that is sure to change.

""When Mitch Talbot is activated from the DL, he will go back into the rotation, and we'll have to make a decision,'' Acta said.

Talbot has been on the disabled list with mild back strain since July 30 and is eligible to come off Aug. 14. Acta said he will be ready to pitch on that day.

Who will be lopped off the roster to make room for Talbot? Probably Gomez. Even though he has made two effective starts, he was not one of the starters Tribe officials identified as major-league ready, and he probably could, indeed, use more time at Triple-A.

Now that the Indians are unofficially a Triple-A team, how does Acta regard the club's chances of winning games?

""I'm an optimistic person,'' he said. ""I come to the park every single day thinking we're going to win a game,'' he said. ""In the long term, it won't usually work out that way. But you can choose what attitude you want to have, and that's my attitiude.''